The New Persian Kitchen (3 page)

Of course, Iran’s culinary influence flowed outward, as well. After the Muslim conquest of Iran in the mid-700s, the Arabs imported Persian tastes and techniques to the countries they conquered: thus,
khoresh
stew became
tagine
in Morocco; saffron
polo
, rice cooked with meat, became paella in Spain; and preserved quinces and bitter oranges reached England via trade routes from Spain and Portugal to become marmalade.

The
Zoroastrians who fled to India in order to escape Muslim conversion in the ninth century (becoming the modern-day Parsis) brought their beloved
polo
,
nãn
(bread), and
tanur
, which would become the pilaf, naan, and tandoori that we see on Indian menus today. Farther east, trading along the Silk Road brought Persian staples like
eggplant, sesame seeds, and even garlic to China. The kebab, Iran’s greatest contribution to the world catalog of handheld foods, would become a perennial American barbecue favorite starting in the late twentieth century.

Iran was not only an exporter of cooking styles, but of spiritual practices as well. In pre-Islamic Iran, the sovereign religion was
Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic faith that predates Christ by six hundred years and whose narrative lent both Judaism and Christianity some of their core concepts. Familiar ideas like heaven and hell, angels, the coming of the messiah, the six days of creation, and the Ten Commandments, not to mention the date of Christmas and the ritual decoration of trees, all have antecedents in Zoroastrianism.

Many of Zoroastrianism’s tenets reached Europe via Mithraism, the powerful Roman cult of the Persian sun deity, Mithra (whose birthday was December 21, the winter solstice), which was spread throughout the Roman Empire by traveling Roman legions. When the Roman emperor Constantine famously declared himself and his empire Christian in CE 313, he appropriated much of Mithraism’s ritual and imagery. The link between Zoroastrianism and the Abrahamic faiths is a reminder that Europe and Asia have been exchanging ideas for millennia, and it’s a clear indication of Iran’s influence on Western culture.

The dramatic climate and geography of Iran have played a powerful role in shaping its unique cuisine. On a topographical map, the country resembles a flaring dragon’s jaw that hinges in the northwest and breathes fire toward the southeast. The “jaw” is made up of two great mountain ranges: the northern Alborz Mountains, which run parallel to the Caspian Sea from Azerbaijan in the northwest all the way east to the Hindu Kush of Afghanistan; and the Zagros Mountains, which descend from the same corner in Azerbaijan all the way down the western half of the country toward the Persian Gulf in the south.

From above, Iran can be seen as a kind of massive land-bridge, slapped over the watery divide between the Middle East and the Far East. Although a great swath of northeastern and central Iran remains uninhabitable desert, the country has a variable climate with four distinct seasons. Inside its borders, the atmospheric conditions range from permanent snow (and world-class skiing) in the Alborz Mountains to the green and rainy basin of the Caspian, from subtropical forests near the southern Gulf coast to the grassy steppes of the far north near Turkmenistan.

Divided by mountains and deserts, Iran’s civilization developed in isolated pockets that weren’t well connected by roads and railways until the twentieth century. These separations gave rise to contrasting cuisines in the country’s diverse locales.

Each region of Iran, for instance, makes its own version of flatbread and is renowned for a unique sweet treat: chewy
gaz
nougat in Isfahan, caramelized
sohan
brittle in Qom, rose water–scented baklava in Yazd, and intricately stamped
koloocheh
pastries in Fuman. Down on the Persian Gulf, locals concoct spicy seafood dishes that are considered too hot for the temperate tongues of their countrymen farther north.

In the northwest, the cuisine is heavily influenced by Iran’s northern neighbor, Turkey, and local specialties include stuffed grape leaves, Turkish coffee, and Tabrizi meatballs filled with hard-boiled egg and prunes or apricots. The northern coastal province of Gilan is known for the country’s best rice, smoked fish, and salty fish roe fresh from the Caspian Sea, as well as the tastiest
fesenjan
in the country.

The common thread that connects these diverse regional styles is a shared emphasis on sweet-and-sour and fruity tastes. There is even a special word in the Persian language used to describe this distinct vinegar-and-honey quality:
malas
. Persians genuinely love tart food, and you’ll see the combination of sweet and sour everywhere, from
fesenjan
stew to sour cherry preserves to dates pickled in tamarind. Acidic ingredients like rhubarb, barberries, sumac, limes, lemons, sour oranges, and vinegar all contribute to the mouth-puckering, vibrant character of Persian food.

Maybe the ancient Persians were aware of the many
health benefits of sour food. Sure enough, modern studies suggest that sour juices and vinegar are antimicrobial, hydrating, and help prevent the body from storing excess fat.

Most Iranians will happily explain to you why Persian cooking is healthier than other kinds of cooking, and they’re not simply boasting. Traditional Persian recipes and menus have evolved over generations based on the way the ingredients complement one another, according to a highly detailed philosophy dating back at least as far as the advent of Zoroastrianism in about 600 BCE. This system classifies all foods as either “cold” (
sarmi
) or “hot” (
gardi
). It’s a system not unlike the Chinese designations of “yin” or “yang,” or the Indian Ayurvedic guidelines that balance the five elements of earth, ether, air, fire, and water.

According to Persian food protocol, kebab is always sprinkled with sumac and eaten with rice, raw onion, and the yogurt drink
doogh
. Why? Well, because onions are antibacterial, and sumac and yogurt aid in digestion. This way all the ingredients conspire to help your body digest those big hunks of rich protein. In this case, the meat and onions are considered “hot,” while sumac, yogurt, and rice are classified as “cold.”

No discussion of Persian food would be complete without a mention of Persian poetry. Mystical, often melancholy, the ageless words of poets like Hafez, Rumi, and Sa’adi are voiced in recitation and song at many Persian gatherings. Indeed,
poetry and food have been called the anchors of Persian identity.

On
Shab-e Yalda
, the longest night of the year, for instance, it’s customary to eat watermelon and summer fruits in the hope that the crops will thrive the following summer—and to stay up all night reading poetry. At
Norooz
, the Persian New Year which falls on the spring equinox, Iranians prepare a meal with fresh green herbs to symbolize rebirth; and even today, prominent Iranian poets pay homage to this ancient holiday by writing odes to the glory of spring. At a Persian wedding, the bride and groom feed each other honey in a ritual that invites sweetness into married life, while on the ceremonial wedding table, called a
sofreh
, one often finds a collection of Hafez along with a copy of the Koran.

With or without poetry, the refined and hospitable nature of Iranians is perhaps nowhere more evident than at the dinner table. If you’ve ever had the good fortune to be invited to a Persian home for a meal, you know that Iranians could not be less like the stereotype of angry, anti-American fanatics often portrayed in Western media. For the most part, today’s Iranians are an intellectually curious, poetically inclined, and refreshingly warm people who love nothing more than to get you stuffed on delicious food, then hand you a glass of
chai
and engage you in an energetic conversation about history or philosophy.

Despite the many ways that they have elevated global cuisine, and even influenced world culture, Iranians are still a mystery to most Westerners. Still, a feast of saffron, pistachios, and pomegranates can explain more about the Iranian character than any news story, and can serve to bridge the distance between our two cultures. After twenty-five hundred years of refinement and evolution, it seems the perfect time for Persian cuisine to assume its rightful place as one of the world’s great culinary traditions.
Nooshe jan!
*

D
iscovering
Persian ingredients is a bit like lifting the lid off of a treasure box: the dazzling sight of pink rose petals and green cardamom is surpassed only by the heady scent and delicate flavor of red saffron and golden turmeric. In part, Persian food makes such a striking first impression because the exquisite ingredients—and the innovative way they’re combined—are so entirely unique to Persian cuisine.

Following is a selection of key Persian ingredients and a brief description of how to use them. Many of these ingredients, although certainly exotic, are widely available at natural foods and gourmet markets, as well as many ethnic food stores. If you can’t find these ingredients locally, you can find mail-order sources for the nonperishable goods in the
Resources
section.

Dark, sweet caramelized onions provide the foundation of flavor in many Persian stews, stuffings, rice dishes, and soups. They’re especially important for giving a deep, well-rounded taste to vegetarian dishes.

To make caramelized onions, slice the onions to a uniform thickness of ¼ inch or less, sauté them in oil over medium-high heat for 10 minutes, until they start to darken, then cook them slowly over low heat for about 30 minutes, until they are dark brown and roughly half their original volume. If you like, you can even caramelize a big batch of onions and store them in the refrigerator or freezer and use them as needed, or when you want to add a shot of flavor to any dish. The onions will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and in an airtight container in the freezer for a couple of months.

Originally from the south of India, cardamom, with its sweet and spicy taste, became an integral part of Persian cuisine thousands of years ago. Grassy green cardamom pods hold tiny black seeds that burst with fragrant sweetness. Iranians use cardamom in their cooking in much the way Westerners use cinnamon, and it’s an element in virtually every Persian pastry and dessert. While it’s easiest to use the ground cardamom available in stores (which is made from the combined pods and seeds), fastidious Persian cooks buy the pods only, break them open with a hammer or the flat side of a knife, and grind the seeds as needed. This approach makes sense given that the flavor of cardamom fades relatively quickly. Besides desserts, cardamom is also part of a classic Persian spice mix called
advieh
(comparable to an Indian garam masala mix) that can also include turmeric, saffron, black pepper, and cumin. (
See photo
.
)

Chewy, sugary dates are native to the Persian Gulf region. They add a note of honey to many Persian dishes, both savory and sweet, and are a prized part of the customary fruit and nut platter that Persians prepare for visiting guests. Dates have a special place at the Muslim holiday
Ramadan, when the daily fast is broken at sundown by eating three dates, as the Prophet Mohammed is said to have done. There are many different date products readily available in Iran and the Middle East that aren’t common in the United States, such as date paste, date molasses, and date sugar, which is made from ground and
dried dates and makes a good alternative to regular sugar. The two kinds of dates most widely found in the States are soft Medjools and semidry Deglets. With their rich flavor, natural sweetness, and creamy texture, Medjools are by far the superior choice, but Deglets make an acceptable substitute. (
See photo of fresh dates
.
)

Khaki-colored sun-dried limes are one of the standout ingredients of Persian cuisine, and their intense citrus essence is an iconic component of the Persian flavor profile. Dried limes are native to the Gulf state Oman (
limoo Omani
means “Omani limes”), where they are simply called
limoo
. Like regular limes, they’re bitter and sweet at the same time, but have a far more intense flavor because they combine the taste of the juice and the rind. For lime and lemon lovers, they’re a dream come true, yet their unmistakable taste does take some getting used to.